Prior to the renovation, Lake County had requested a Study to be done of existing facilities to form a plan to consolidate three separate 911 entities into one administrative-supportive facility. Wold conducted this study, which made an efficient and effective recommendation to combine the separate emergency operations into a vacant area of the existing County Administrative Building. This superior plan, in addition to the team’s SECC experience with the County Director, also awarded Wold the opportunity to implement the renovations.
Wold collaborated with the County Staff, finding similar goals and priorities of the different administrators and dispatchers. We found a lot of common criteria, and we were able to rally around a common goal of what the facility had to be in order to create a great and highly functional working environment. This criteria included:
-Ability to provide a higher level of service to the public
-High performing, positive, ergonomic work environments; thermal comfort and proper acoustics
-Spaces that are adaptable, flexible and multi-use
-Energy efficient design
-Connectivity between admin and dispatchers
-Survivability; uninterrupted services through hardened, redundant design.
Innovation comes with unique challenges. While there were major benefits to using an existing space, this building had a low floor-to-ceiling height, and low windows, which contributed to glare and hardening issues for the dispatch floor. The mechanical HVAC system also needed to tie into the building’s air-handling system, which had to be reconfigured to ensure proper air-flow during occupied construction, and keep up with a building that was in 24/7 use. The space Wold created with this new configuration, and new, highly-placed windows, allowed for a healthier and more comfortable working environment that won’t stop working (even in an emergency)! The newly constructed space is more energy efficient, flexible for multi-use, can also accommodate 5 additional call stations and a fourth 911 entity as Lake County grows.